Despite initial hopes among advocates that the charges against the CBC host would bring positive change, the trial has shed light on a justice system riddled with barriers and stigma to reporting sexual assault crimes

Jian Ghomeshi’s trial has given Canadians an unprecedented window into how the country’s legal system addresses sexual assault allegations.
Photograph: Frank Gunn/AP

For eight days in February, a fleet of news vans lined the street beside Toronto’s Old City Hall courthouse. Outside, dozens of reporters milled around, hashing out their next updates; in the dock sat one of the country’s most prominent media personalities, accused of violently sexually assaulting several women.

Jian Ghomeshi acquitted of all charges in sexual assault trial

Many will be watching closely, keenly aware that the decision in the trial could have repercussions across the country for groups that range from sexual assault survivors to defence lawyers.

Ghomeshi was known for his smooth interviewing style on the radio show Q and celebrated for his socially progressive views.

When they first emerged in the fall of 2014, the accusations against Ghomeshi stunned the country. Within weeks, what had started as a trickle swelled to more than 20 separate accusations, as women came forward with their own stories of being slapped, punched, bitten, choked or smothered by the radio host.

Ghomeshi denied all the accusations, pleading not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and another of choking to overcome resistance.

His trial, tinged with power and celebrity – and played out in the age of liveblogs and Twitter – has given Canadians an unprecedented window into how the country’s legal system addresses sexual assault allegations.

Those who work with sexual assault survivors worry that even before the verdict is delivered on Thursday, the events in court could discourage victims from coming forward. “This trial has impact,” said Farrah Khan, who runs a sexual violence support and education program at Toronto’s Ryerson University. “Survivors are listening, the community is listening.”

This trial has impact. Survivors are listening, the community is listening

Farrah Khan

Canada’s record is already dismal when it comes to reporting and securing convictions in sexual assault crimes. Advocates say that fewer than 10% of sexual assaults are reported, while a 2012 study from the University of Ottawa suggested that the conviction rate is around 0.3%.

Khan’s group is one of several organisations across Canada that is planning events to mark the day, including a rally in support of sexual assault survivors at Old City Hall on Thursday evening. “No matter what the verdict is, we want people to know survivors are seen, heard and believed,” said Khan.

The trial shed light on a system riddled with barriers and stigma to reporting crimes, echoing advocates’ longstanding complaint that the justice system is inadequate when it comes to sexual assault crimes. One flashpoint was a controversial defence strategy called “whacking”, which seeks to whittle away at sexual assault allegations by undermining the testimony of complainants.

Regardless of Thursday’s decision, many will likely question whether this tactic was at play during the trial.

Breese Davies of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association argued that blame does not lie with defence lawyers, whom she credited with doing an exemplary job. “We have an adversarial system because we collectively have decided over hundreds of years that that’s the best system to get at the truth and to figure out what happened – is to have someone tell their story and have that story be tested.”

Television actress Lucy DeCoutere – identified after she waived her right to a publication ban – told Ghomeshi she wanted to have sex with him in an email sent one day after he allegedly choked and slapped her. DeCoutere said she didn’t remember writing the email, and pointed out that her continued correspondence with Ghomeshi didn’t mean the alleged assaults did not take place.

The third complainant admitted she had not told police that she had engaged in sexual activity with Ghomeshi after he allegedly put his hands around her neck and squeezed as they were kissing on a park bench. She said she had been embarrassed and hadn’t thought it was relevant.

The checks and balances are necessary, said Davies, given what is at stake. If convicted of sexual assault, Ghomeshi, 48, faces a maximum sentence of 18 months behind bars. The charge of choking carries a potential life sentence.

Jesse Brown, the journalist who broke the story of the allegations against Ghomeshi, wasn’t expecting much to come from Thursday’s verdict. “My first thought was that he’s going to walk, as soon as the charges were laid. Because that’s what happens in these types of cases.”

For Brown, the lingering questions that remain as the trial wraps up revolve around how it was reported; articles reflected the aggressive defence strategy and repeatedly described the witnesses’s credibility as being “damaged” or “destroyed”, he said.

“The defence was very good at making a dramatic, theatrical display and the media ate it up and spat it out,” he said. “We had the media misreporting things and taking a side without even knowing it.”

The defence was very good at making a dramatic, theatrical display and the media ate it up and spat it out

Jesse Brown

Coverage of the trial contrasted sharply with the response when the allegations against Ghomeshi burst into public view. After Ghomeshi fired off a 1,590-word missive on his penchant for consensual “rough sex” and what he called “a campaign of false allegations”, complainants began coming forward with claims dating back decades. Survivors of sexual assault rallied around them, using the hashtag #BeenRapedNeverReported to share their own stories and take aim at the cultural norms that had keep them silent for so long.

“One thing that I heard again and again was that this was a turning point, it was a watershed moment, nothing would ever be the same,” said Brown.

But the message that has emerged, he said, was that it might be better for survivors to stay silent.

“The media’s decisions and the ways that they presented all this, it’s just the most crushing disincentive to anyone who might have been thinking about coming forward about Ghomeshi – or about anyone else,” said Brown, who added that some of those who had originally come to him with serious allegations against Ghomeshi later told him they were thankful they hadn’t gone to the police.

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Regardless of Thursday’s verdict, the trial has offered campaigners an unprecedented opportunity to shine a light on the shortcomings of the justice system when it comes to sexual assault, said Amanda Dale of the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, which provides legal support for victims of abuse. “I think the scrutiny is actually a good thing because it blows the lid off the myth that the criminal system has been working.”

Some have used the media attention to call for the creation of specialised sexual violence courts, in which the judges and prosecution are trained in areas such as trauma and intimate violence, while others launched an online campaign to encourage media to more carefully weigh the words they use when reporting on sexual violence.

Changes are already afoot, with Ontario announcing earlier this month that it will launch a pilot project this spring to give free legal advice to survivors of sexual assault in select cities. The representation would be available to all survivors, regardless of whether they choose to report the assault.

Once Thursday’s verdict is handed down, the push will be on to capitalise on the momentum of the Ghomeshi trial to bring about change. “The groundwork has been slowly laid for over 30 years and then you get these moments where an opportunity presents itself,” said Dale.

Ghomeshi faces another trial in June, stemming from allegations that he touched the buttocks of a former CBC employee and said to her: “I want to hate-fuck you.”

Managers of CBC apologised last year to their employees and audience after a damning report concluded they knew of Ghomeshi’s inappropriate behaviour but chose to instead protect the popular radio host. The report detailed how higher-ups at the network consistently ignored complaints regarding Ghomeshi, and instead proved “all too ready to believe his version of the truth”.